This invention relates to a wire and to an apparatus for machining with the aid of a subdivided abrasive material. More particularly, this invention relates to such a machining wire and such an apparatus for machining work pieces constituted of hard materials.
The term "machining" is used herein in a very comprehensive sense to include all operations in which the material of the work piece is removed or smoothed by abrasion, such as polishing, grinding, shaping, sawing or cutting and the like.
Articles made of hard materials, such as diamond, tungsten carbide and boron carbide, are machined with the aid of abrasive powders, for example diamond powder or slurries thereof. Such articles include, for example, wire drawing dies. In the manufacture and repair of such a die, the rough initial configuration of the die aperture is ground and polished to the final configuration or a worn die aperture is re-finished by reciprocating a wire in the aperture in the presence of an abrasive powder which may, for example, be applied to the wire or introduced into the aperture as a slurry. The grinding and polishing or other machining operation does not proceed as efficiently as could be desired.
It is an object of the invention to provide a wire apparatus for abrasive powder machining which will be more efficient than the wires and apparatuses of the prior art. The term "abrasive powder" is used herein in a sense which includes subdivided abrasive material generally, for example, a powder or a slurry.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.